Making a list of computer hardware for a friend

**Sir-Nerd** · 08-03-2012, 11:27 PM

I have a friend who's paraplegic, and is bound to his family. His family is moving down to Austin, a long way aways from Ohio, and his birthday is coming up. I already helped buy him a laptop (350 bucks from me, another friend chipped in) and I told him I would give him a list of parts to buy in order to build himself a gaming desktop when he's settled down in Texas. His budget is around 1000 dollars, and I based some of his parts with my current computer. I want something that'll last a few years. He's not a real tech guy, nor software person, so no SSDs or anything too fancy. He wants this as part of a learning experience, so rugged is good.

Here's the current list, please feel free to comment and give alternatives that might be more cost effective.

CD drive: Asus 20 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204

Case: antec 300 mid tower, black - 55 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042

processor: i5-2500k LGA 1155 - 220 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072

motherboard: Asus P8Z77 - 140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131837

graphics card: EVGA GTX 560 ti - 220 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130604

RAM : 8gigs of Rip PC3 12800 - 45 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231314

Power supply: Corsair 750w Modular - 150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139010

Hardrive: Western Digital 500gig - 100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136697

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Pro 64 bit - 100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986

Cost: Around 1050

Thanks dudes.

**DeF** · 08-04-2012, 07:07 AM

I did not see an after market cooler so may I reccomend

CORSAIR Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

Also just as a suggestion take a look at

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX Intel Motherboard

**mangeface** · 08-07-2012, 01:13 AM

ASRock isn't bad, but if he can afford the ASUS definitely get it.

May suggest a bigger CPU cooler, like the H80. Cost more, but it'll cool much better and be able to handle the temps of overclocking. But this would tack on another $100 to the price, putting about $150 over the budget. It could be something to look at in the future. I saw you put he isn't much of a tech savvy guy, so he may not be interested in overclocking which means stock heatsink wouldn't do too bad (compared to the sh*t that AMD includes with their CPUs), but he may want to at least invest into a bigger heatsink since it is a gaming computer he's wanting to build. Something like this would be good:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065. A lot of reviews, all good, and it's only $30.

Also, to hell with that HDD you put. Definitely get a 1TB. It's twice the capacity for $10 more. Not to mention it's a 6GB/s transfer rate compared to the 3 you have listed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136533

Other than that, everything looks solid. Looked at the case and it should be compatible with a liquid CPU cooler (meaning a good spot to mount the radiator on rear or top exhaust fan) and reviews stated that the heatsink I suggested is a tight fit, but fits in the Antec 300 case.

**Ven** · 08-07-2012, 09:17 AM

you guys and your liquid coolers. Hyper 212 is air and holds temps down incredibly well, I have OC'd 2 chips with mine and ever crack 40C in 5 hour long gaming marathons.
Total cost $29.99

**Sir-Nerd** · 08-07-2012, 11:13 AM

Originally Posted by mangeface

Also, to hell with that HDD you put. Definitely get a 1TB. It's twice the capacity for $10 more. Not to mention it's a 6GB/s transfer rate compared to the 3 you have listed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136533

Other than that, everything looks solid. Looked at the case and it should be compatible with a liquid CPU cooler (meaning a good spot to mount the radiator on rear or top exhaust fan) and reviews stated that the heatsink I suggested is a tight fit, but fits in the Antec 300 case.

I couldn't find the link for the TB drive, thank you.

And i have that exact same cooler inside of a Antec 300. I also doubt he'll be OCing, I've been doing this for 5 years, still don't OC.

**DeF** · 08-07-2012, 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by Ven

you guys and your liquid coolers. Hyper 212 is air and holds temps down incredibly well, I have OC'd 2 chips with mine and ever crack 40C in 5 hour long gaming marathons.
Total cost $29.99

That's because gaming doesn't use as much CPU as you think. Try running Linpack or Prime95 (small FFTs).

Originally Posted by Sir-Nerd

I couldn't find the link for the TB drive, thank you.

And i have that exact same cooler inside of a Antec 300. I also doubt he'll be OCing, I've been doing this for 5 years, still don't OC.

Why not a 1.5 TB drive for the same price and it's 6.0 GB/s.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

**mangeface** · 08-07-2012, 09:09 PM

Originally Posted by Ven

you guys and your liquid coolers. Hyper 212 is air and holds temps down incredibly well, I have OC'd 2 chips with mine and ever crack 40C in 5 hour long gaming marathons.
Total cost $29.99

Originally Posted by mangeface

I saw you put he isn't much of a tech savvy guy, so he may not be interested in overclocking which means stock heatsink wouldn't do too bad (compared to the sh*t that AMD includes with their CPUs), but he may want to at least invest into a bigger heatsink since it is a gaming computer he's wanting to build. Something like this would be good:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065. A lot of reviews, all good, and it's only $30.

Miss that? And it's $20 now.

Originally Posted by DeF

Why not a 1.5 TB drive for the same price and it's 6.0 GB/s.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

There's a reason it's that price. It's a Seagate. I don't like their stuff. I mean, it has good reviews, but only 177 compared to the 1,800+ on the WD I suggested.

**DeF** · 08-08-2012, 05:30 AM

Originally Posted by mangeface

Miss that? And it's $20 now.

There's a reason it's that price. It's a Seagate. I don't like their stuff. I mean, it has good reviews, but only 177 compared to the 1,800+ on the WD I suggested.

I've had problems with every HDD manufacturer so price is my only factor along with performance. If two drives perform similar and one has more capacity for a lower price it's more than worth the risk since with any HDD there are only two outcomes working/not working. The only time I pay attention to reviews is when the majority is below 3 stars which generally indicates an overall problem or a very large batch of DOA's.

I still stand by my recommendation as it is budget friendly and extends the capacity of the computer further. Also as far as the heat sink goes I do agree if no overclocking will be done an air cooled heat sink will do just fine and even in the future upgrading coolers is usually not a big ordeal.

**kin3** · 08-09-2012, 11:11 AM

I recommend 16 gig of ram.

**B2ZMarine** · 08-09-2012, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by kin3

I recommend 16 gig of ram.

Any particular reason? Unless he plans on multi tasking Games with something like photoshop there is no need; 8GB is plenty.

**mangeface** · 08-09-2012, 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by B2ZMarine

Originally Posted by kin3

I recommend 16 gig of ram.

Any particular reason? Unless he plans on multi tasking Games with something like photoshop there is no need; 8GB is plenty.

Yeah, no sh*t. I have 16GB of RAM, but only cause I built a rig with no budget. 8GB is plenty.

**Acreo Aeneas** · 08-14-2012, 12:44 AM

If you're going for the H80, you'd might as well consider the Thermaltake Water2.0 Pro water cooler. From what I remember, it outperforms the H80 and with deals right now costs less than a H80.

As for other hardware, looks good. I have the exact same motherboard. I'd recommend getting a cheapy $100 SSD (90 GB to 128 GB). They are at least somewhat affordable now and you'd benefit greatly when it comes to loading times and file transfers. It's immediate without needing to only stick with a platter HDD.

As for RAM. A nice high-end build would be looking at 16 GBs to 32 GBs of RAM. If you are on a budget AND do not do any sort of intensive graphics or MT threaded work (examples: 3D artist, game developer, media transcoding/conversion/creation, etc), then no need to get 16 GBs now. You can always tack on another 8 GBs if you be smart about the configuration you buy now. Otherwise, if you do do anything I mentioned before, go for the 16 GBs. Then you can just turn off the page file and not have to worry too much.